June is my favorite month of the year. 

I love that the streets of NYC turn into the most vibrant love fest with PRIDE taking over the city. I love the lead up to Father’s Day to celebrate all those partners who identify. I love the Summer Solstice because it’s a reminder that the longest day of sunlight gives me a little more time to enjoy the evening sunset. I even love the end of June, because selfishly, it kicks off Cancer season and ends with my birthday (and I LOVE birthdays).

But, this June, I’ve been deeply troubled.  

I will never forget the feeling I had when the first June Poppy Baby was on the way and we supported our mama through laboring at home. I couldn’t help but think what’s been on my mind since the beginning of March: “It doesn’t matter what is happening in the world, babies will still be born.”

Except, this time, I wasn’t just thinking about the pandemic.  I was thinking about the anti-racist protests that are sweeping our nation  as mamas took to the streets. For Black mothers, the stakes are even higher.

It is the mamas who are heavy on my heart. 

This month, we’ve gotten a lot of questions from our members on how to support Black Lives Matter, what to say and what not to say, where to give, and most of all how to listen and learn.

Let me be lovingly clear. Whatever you do - do it for the babies and the mamas. 

At Poppy Seed Health, we are emboldened to continue our work to support birthing people everywhere and with our give back initiative, we are able to do just that for Black and Brown mamas who are up to 5x more likely to die due to preventable childbirth related incidences. We are tearing down the implicit bias and racial injustices in maternal healthcare, as dollars from every membership gets poured into the communities that need it the most.  

We’ve also launched “Donate the Power of Poppy” so that anyone can purchase our telehealth services for womxn that would otherwise not have access. We created the donation initiative as an extension of our commitment to purpose and profit so that  Black and Brown mamas would have the same level of care and services as everyone else. 

In this edition of The Push, we’ve highlighted our favorite Black-owned prenatal and postpartum products that will soon become your favorite too. Our feature with Queerly Health puts the spotlight squarely on the disparities in LGBTQ+ healthcare and how they are unapologetically changing the system. Our powerful “in Your Own Words” hits home as Elise Schuster shares with us their journey through navigating pregnancy and postpartum as a non-binary parent.

As this month comes to an end, it doesn’t mean that our work stops here. It means that the work is just beginning and you are not alone on your journey. 

We are here with you too. Just a text away.

With Love,

Simmone